


no kind of paper shaker

by afterism



Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1950s, Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-06
Updated: 2016-02-06
Packaged: 2018-05-18 13:26:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5930104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afterism/pseuds/afterism
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"If you don't hold still I'm going to turn this into Betty Boop," Claire says.</p>
            </blockquote>





	no kind of paper shaker

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FreshBrains](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FreshBrains/gifts).



"If you don't hold still I'm going to turn this into Betty Boop," Claire says.

"Ow," Jessica says, flatly, and stops shifting just as the bell above the parlour door chimes.

There's the sound of heels clicking on the tile, the rush of a car out on the street that steals in with the brisk spring air, but Claire is hidden behind the screen at the back of the shop, and all she can see is linen when she glances over.

She lifts the needle clear of Jessica's skin, the buzz falling silent. "I'll be right out!" Claire calls, and gets a definitely feminine, "Sure!" in response.

"Hey, we're not finished," Jessica says.

"If you took better care of yourself, I won't need to keep doing this," Claire says, and pulls back before dabbing at the last sweep of a black line with a cloth. She studies it for a moment, the bright red of Jessica's skin above the tight line of her wrist, the tattoo Jessica keeps bruising and breaking and insisting she fix - and then she grabs the wad of gauze off her table and tapes it in place.

"Done. Go," Claire says, and Jessica wiggles off the chair with a grimace. "Don't come back," she adds, smiling as she follows Jessica out past the screen, and then Claire pulls short, her sharp breath turning into a lift of her chin as she pushes her hands into her pockets. It's not a surprise that there's a woman in the middle of her shop, but - _oh_.

Jessica strides past, and slams the shop door shut behind her. It doesn't break, so she must be happy.

"Hi," the woman says, an unsure slant in her smile, her hair bright and rolled in large curls behind her neck. "I heard - I mean, I need some help."

Claire keeps her shoulders loose despite the sudden lock of her spine, only lets her eyes flicker over blondie's long blue dress for a beat. "Depends what it is," Claire says, and catches herself glancing towards the door.

"A mistake I made a while ago," blondie says, biting her lip as she takes a step forward. "Can you cover bad tattoos with something else?"

Claire breathes out, relief washing tight and hidden through her. "Sure, if you're a fan of black squares," she says, hands still deep in her pockets, and then, "Show me?" she suggests, nodding towards the screen.

"Right," the woman says, with an abortive half-step towards the back of the shop, her hands twitching towards the buttons of her dress. Her handbag swings in the crook of her elbow, tapping against her hip.

"Do you want me to lock the door?" Claire asks.

" _Please_ ," she says, her shoulders slumping an inch as Claire catches herself smiling, and she strides across the tiles to turn the latch. Beyond the glass the afternoon is just tipping into evening, the winter-harsh light fading into a grey dusk. The woman still looks a little lost when Claire turns back around, her fingers linked tight together.

The shop seems, suddenly, impossibly silent.

"What's your name?" Claire asks.

"Karen," the woman says, glancing at her with half smile. Claire catches it, and beams back.

"Claire. Nice to meet you," she says, and gestures with a hitch of her chin as she walks past her, back towards the screen. "Follow me."

Karen does, her heels clicking across the tiles. She drops her handbag onto the reclining chair when she reaches it, and doesn't pause before flicking open the top button of her dress - doesn't hesitate, even, when the fabric shifts and shows the white satin strap pressed over her shoulder, and Claire is just turning away to do anything but stare when Karen peels the dress off one shoulder, and turns her back.

 _Ah,_ Claire thinks. She doesn't recognise the design, but she knows a gang tattoo when she sees one, roughly etched into Karen's skin just right of her spine.

It's no wonder she wants that covered up. Claire takes a step forward, and brushes a finger over the lines to feel how raised the scarring is.

"Okay," Claire says, after a long, silent beat, just the sound of Karen's hitched breath and her own heartbeat filling her ears. She swallows. "What kind of flower do you want?"

Karen looks back over her shoulder, reaching up to brush her hair around her neck. "I really don't care," she says, smiling.

Claire can't stop herself grinning back. There's warmth flushing into her cheeks and this feels like the very top of a Coney Island roller coaster, dangerous and exciting and breathtaking all at once. It's _absurd_.

"I can do it now, if you're spare," Claire says, just to fill the air.

Karen turns away, her curls sweeping over her shoulders again. "Sure thing. Where do you want me?"

 

\---

 

"There's this bar," Karen starts suddenly, just as Claire is rounding off the last petal. She pauses, the gun still buzzing, and Karen is facing away from her so Claire can't see anything but the sweep of her cheekbone as Karen swallows. "I mean, I don't have any friends in this city and I wanted to go check it out, and I was wondering, um, if you're not doing anything -"

She falls silent again. Claire starts on the flecks, and asks, "What's it called?"

Karen pauses, her shoulders tightening for a breath. "The Sea Colony?" Karen says, breathing it out like a question, like she needed to trick it off her tongue.

Claire sucks in a breath, and says a silent prayer of thanks that her hand stays steady. "Yeah, I know it," she says. Bites the tip of her tongue. Makes a decision. "I got arrested there once."

"Oh!" Karen says, and for a startled beat Claire thinks she's hurt her - she whips the needle back clear of her skin but there's no burst of bright red, and a moment later Karen is glancing over her shoulder, lips parted and eyes wide. "I -- sorry, I didn't mean -- that's awful," she says, and gets back into position, her head bowed forward.

"I've had worse nights," Claire says, a tease in her voice as she leans back in, and the line of Karen's shoulders soften a touch. Karen doesn't reply, and Claire blinks away the thrill that fluttered treacherously in her chest, and carries on.

She's almost finished when Karen asks, "Was it worth it?"

"God, no," Claire says. "That place is a dive."

Karen laughs, a bright, clear sound that somehow echoes in Claire's stomach, and Claire pulls back and switches off the machine. "Almost done," she says, wiping the ink off the needles before she sets them down, and Karen tries to look down at her own shoulder blade as Claire cleans it off and tapes the gauze over it.

"Stay still," Claire chides, Karen's skin warm under her fingertips, and she can feel the huff of laughter through her ribs. For a long breath she lets her hand drift down an inch or two, old training kicking in as she studies her - and then, "You're good to go," Claire says, and pulls her hand away.

"You're a miracle-worker," Karen says, catching Claire's eyes with a grin as she stands up - and it's not as though Claire could have forgotten that Karen's in nothing but a girdle and bra from the waist up, her dress halfway unbuttoned and hanging off her hips, but suddenly she can't look away.

She bites her lip, and makes it deliberate - a slow look that starts at Karen's hips and skims across her skin, smooth and pale where it's not flushed pink, up her long neck and bitten-red mouth until she meets her eyes, and -

"Help me with this?" Karen asks, her fingers catching at her dress but she's looking only at Claire, her eyes dark and her voice warm and low and edged rough in a way that makes it curl with promises.

"With what, exactly?" Claire says, a grin pulling irresistibly at her mouth as she unfurls from her chair and stands up, so close that Karen's dress brushes her thighs and her fingers brush over Karen's - and she's back on the roller coaster and it's hurtling down the track as Karen turns her wrists so she can link their fingers together, but Claire wouldn't stop it if she could.

She can't miss Karen's quick glance at the screen but they're hidden completely from the outside world, as safe as they could be with something that makes her heart race like this. There's a new blush in Karen's cheeks and a kind of brightness in her eyes that makes Claire think of dares by streetlights, and that's all the warning she gets before Karen rushes in, and kisses her.

Claire grins into it, and kisses her back.

**Author's Note:**

> [The Sea Colony was a real place!](http://lostwomynsspace.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/sea-colony.html)

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic] No Kind of Paper Shaker](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9090073) by [RsCreighton](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RsCreighton/pseuds/RsCreighton)




End file.
